CM Mehbooba Mufti intervene in re-opening of Sharda Peeth Pilgrimage in POK

Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd.) meets J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti- seeks her immediate intervention in re-opening of Sharda Peeth Pilgrimage in POK

Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd.) called on J&K Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti and briefed her about the recent developments on re-opening of Sharda Pilgrimage in Muzaffarabad, POK, particularly in the wake of Supreme Court of POK (AJK) order on preservation of Sharda peeth. Recently Chief Justice of POK Hon'ble Chief Justice Jenab Chaudhary Mohammad Ibrahim Zia gave the historical judgement on preservation of Sharda Peeth in Muzaffarabad district of  POK. This landmark judgement dated 2^nd. January’2018 was addressed to Ravinder Pandita, founder of the committee . A memorandum was presented to the Chief Minister asking her indulgence for reopening of pilgrimage that has not been held since last 70 years. Earlier She was presented with the soil and flowers received from PoK civil society and the photographs depicting recent developments & efforts by the committee on the pilgrimage.

The delegation was led by Sh. Ravinder Pandita, Head of the committee, who stressed the need for an amendment to LOC permit rules to include annual pilgrimages besides meeting relatives as contained in the permit rules, presently. The meeting lasted 45 minutes and the issue was thoroughly discussed with regard to Cross LOC heritage & religious tourism. The Chief minister was briefed about the strategic importance of the site by former Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ata Hasnain, who is also the founder member of the committee. Other members included Adv. Vinod Trisal, member of the committee,Sh. Vijay Vaishnavi from KP Sabha Chandigarh, Smt. Kusum Pandita , Shrawan Pandita and others.The Chief Minister while appreciating the efforts of the committee assured the committee members that she will be personally taking up the matter with Prime Minister earnestly.

In a press release the founder Head of committee Sh. Ravinder Pandita has said  that these temples like Sharda and other shrines and not only of religious but historical & archeological importance too. We have been striving for the Re-opening of Sharda pilgrimage on the lines of Nankana sahib Lahore annual yatra by sikhs. Though we have LOC permit in place for J&K state subjects, but it is meant for meeting relatives only living across Loc hence we are deprived of visiting Sharda - the basic seat of learning. The last yatra undertaken was by our Guru Swami Nand Lal Ji, a great saint of Kashmir during partition in 1947. His followers included the then sarpanch of Sharda village namely Zaman Khan.

Although we have formed a committee and pressing our government for a dialogue with Pakistani Government, yet much needs to be done at people to people contact as well. Last year  we got a breakthrough when a few friends of ours living in Muzaffarabad called Civil society in POK laid flowers on our behalf in the temple and sent us sacred soil & these flowers to India. we all Kashmiris in particular hail the great and kind act and later in March this year we had sent a photo of Goddess Sharda at their address in AJK which was installed inside the temple, but the same is not seen there now in their recent visit in October. “ I have received lot of visiting pilgrim delegations from POK here in New Delhi and these people have shown absolute willingness and have invited us for pilgrimage to Sharda and the restoration of same thereof”, Ravinder Pandita said..

As far as restoration of these religious sites is concerned, our committee is willing and undertakes the restoration work and any assistance thereof. The Hon'ble court may take suo-moto cognizance of our undertaking especially for Sharda temple in POK, which is our heritage. This may bridge lot of differences between kashmiris separated by LOC at the moment. Temples & shrines are being restored and reclaimed by our sister organization APMCC in Kashmir valley as well, though we are out of valley for the last 28 years. The struggle for re-opening of Sharda pilgrimage and setting up of Sharda University in J&K cannot be undermined. Save Sharda committee Kashmir (Regd.) had earlier written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan undertaking to work on the restoration work of temples & shrines in Pakistan and Sharda in POK, in particular. Earlier the committee founder Ravinder Pandita met Sh. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi MOS minorities in Govt. of India recently in New Delhi along with a delegation and discussed steps for preserving religious shrines in Pakistan. The minister assured  the committee that Govt. will take all possible steps and give financial assistance also in consultation with his counterpart in Pakistan for preservation of minorities shrines in Pakistan.

Living consciously, giving back to society is a business skill: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

“The purpose of wealth is to create wellness. Finding balance and inner peace is essential for entrepreneurs as well as citizens. Both are a pre-requisite for growth and development,” said Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living. Speaking on the third and final day of the CII Partnership Summit 2018 in a session titled “Special plenary with a social icon” in Visakhapatnam on Monday, the spiritual guru said, “Wealth means health. Not just an absence of ill-health but a soul functioning at the highest level of one’s consciousness.”

“You cannot squander half of your health to earn wealth and then squander half of your wealth to regain health. It just doesn’t make business or economic sense”, the Gurudev pointed out.

Pointing out to the problems that a blind resort to development can produce, he said that the “UK government had now to create a department solely to tackle the problem of loneliness in society.”

He said that “sewa” or giving back to society should be an important mark of an entrepreneur’s mental makeup as that will giving him “the greatest satisfaction” and the best use of the wealth that he has created.

Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, said that the “only way to leads one’s life is by adopting integrity and ethics as a life skill. Creation of ill-gotten wealth will create problems.” Mr Naidu explained that one of his government’s aim was to make a “happy society” even while maximising growth and development and that he had announced a “happy Sunday” to encourage citizens and their families to come outdoors and mix with the community as “human interaction was a critical ingredient in upping the happiness quotient of the people.”

On the prevailing quest for “instant gratification” by both citizens and businesses, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that while that was a “normal human instinct”, developing an attitude of “patience” was a necessity. “We need passion but not feverishness, need dispassion but not apathy. We need dynamism infused with patience and consciousness,“ he cautioned.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar outlined three mantras for success for in the Indian situation today. One, trust in oneself; two, trust in the Indian system; and three, trust in the resilience and dynamism of the Indian people.

Asked about today’s increasing resort to the gadgets like the smartphone as a constant and demanding companion, he said, “Sometimes we need be in the airplane mode. Keep the devices aside for some part of the day and try to connect with nature, the community and experience silence. It can be therapeutic and remove some of the imbalances in your mental and spiritual makeup. Most of all, invest in yourself. Shift the context of your universe”.

The session was moderated by Pranjal Sharma, Author, Kranti Nation: India and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Bollywood at UP Investors Summit

   Bollywood biggies attend the UP Investors Summit. TheWell known names from the film industry including producers Boney Kapoor & Rahul Mittra, actor & Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan, directors Subhash Ghai & Anurag Kashyap attended the second day of the Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit held in Lucknow on a mega scale which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at this special session on Media & entertainment, ace director Subhash Ghai urged the local talent to come forward with scripts having local flavour while Boney Kapoor emphasised on the need of having more cinema halls in the state.

          

   Noted filmmaker Rahul Mittra spoke on the enormous scope of digital content consumption & urged fellow filmmakers to create original & crisp content. Group CEO Viacom Sudhanshu Vats, Madhu Mantena, Principal Secretary Information Awanish Awasthi & Minister Information Dr Neelkanth Tiwari were also present at the summit. 

   The two-day event is was attended by more than 5,000 delegates from around the world and as many as 25 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Thousands of crores were signed during this mega summit. 

Cosmetic surgery is not the only reason of superstar Sridevi's death: Dr. Monica Kapoor

The untimely death of megastar Sridevi due to a cardiac arrest took everyone into a shock. The 54-year old actress, who dominated the cinema in the 80s, went to Dubai to be a part of a family wedding. There have been widespread speculations about the unexpected death, with many experts and doctors alleging innumerable cosmetic surgeries that she underwent.

Toxic doses of local anesthetic that are administered during the surgery are said to be the major cause behind sudden cardiac arrests. However, Dr. Monika Kapoor holds contradictory views about the same. Condemning the ideology that completely blames the surgery and medical treatments as the cause behind, Dr. Monika - who is a cosmetic surgeon herself, says, “Cosmetic surgeries could not be the only reason for someone’s sudden death. We can't blame medical procedures for such disaster, but the reason behind getting these cosmetic surgeries, i. e constant mental and social stress to look at their best could be blamed to an extent.”

Dr. Monica Kapoor,

Elaborating further, she said, “If cosmetic surgeries were responsible for such death then, this could have happened long back in the past. Sridevi had undergone such surgeries in her early 40s as well.”

Citing the example of Michael Jackson, Monika explained, “Prominent personalities like MJ underwent different cosmetic procedures and surgeries but nowhere in the world, surgical societies / medical societies blamed the cause of sudden death to these surgeries.”

Dr. Monica also gave reference of other surgeries people undergo, and which are neither harmful. “People sometimes need multiple surgeries for tumour removal or for a complete cure, but that doesn't kill them. The constant social and mental stress to look picture perfect is the main culprit behind it and not these surgeries. So I believe the reason behind the surgeries I.e society or family pressure to maintain the status and profile, might have caused the sad demise of our the most iconic stars of all times

BJp concillor & corruption

24 Feb 2018, Page No.10, Punjab Kesari

Move from “ease” of doing business to “please” of doing business: Suresh Prabhu

 

Saying that India should now move from ‘ease of doing business” to “please of doing business”, Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said that it was critical that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country was “nurtured and allowed to flourish” . Mr Prabhu was addressing the session entitled “The reform calculus: Promoting ease of doing business” at the CII Partnership Summit 2018 being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. He said that dynamic chief ministers like Chandrababu Naidu “have made my job as federal minster for commerce and industry easier as I can bask in his glory.”
 

He said that what was unique about Andhra Pradesh was that “not only had it made its investing processes totally transparent but also offered customised solutions to individual businesses which is a paradigm shift in the way business was being done in the state.”
 

Mr Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, said that if “Andhra Pradesh were a country, it would rank 88th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index” . He said that his goal was to take his state to “64^th rank in the first phase and reach 40^th rank in the second phase, with the ultimate goal of being among the top 5 investment destinations by 2050 globally.”
 

“I am benchmarking my goals with the top countries of the world in the ease of doing business rankings,” Mr Naidu said, pointing out that already “30% of business proposals are given approvals on the spot and the rest of the 70% are only taking a maximum of 21days.”
 

Ms Shobana Kamineni, President, CII, said that while the ease of doing business was important and critical, it was time that the Indian industry “doubled-down” on the “business of doing business” . She said that the Indian industry bodies should come together and raise their voice to enable the growth and development of Indian business.  The CII President also pointed to the criticality of ensuring that the parameters of measuring ease of doing business should also include the criteria of friendliness of government policies towards the growth of MSMEs.
 

Ms Kamineni also said that it was time that India started producing “large world class companies” through the easing of doing business by encouraging and facilitating participation by “anchor investors, even from abroad.”
 

Mr Sameer Garde, President-India & SAARC, Cisco Systems Inc said that it was important to link the efforts to enhance the ease of doing business with the ‘livability index” so that the needs of “bottom of the pyramid are also addressed through the use of technology and processes.”
 

While appreciating the quest for ‘Make in India’ and launching of defense-corridors in south India, Mr Phil Shaw, Chief Executive-India, Lockheed Martin, wanted India to also consider the imperative for creating a larger ecosystem in the defense and aerospace sector by “moving beyond the adoption of the lowest-cost technical solutions paradigm.” He also called for “predictability in procurement” by the Indian government.
 

Saying that he “believed in India” , Mr Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, USIBC US Chamber of Commerce, emphasised that any country that is projected to grow from a $2.5 trillion economy today to a $10 trillion economy in 15 years cannot be ignored.”
 

Praising the vision and execution prowess demonstrated by the CM, he said, “May be (US) President (Donald) Trump can learn something from him.” He called on Andhra Pradesh to mark its presence in the US by opening an office in the US. “While 15 US states have offices in India, there is no presence of Indian states in the US,” Mr Brilliant said.
 

Mr Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary General, International Investor Council, UAE, pointed to the “similarities in vision” between what was happening in India and Andhra Pradesh to what was being done in his own country.
 

He said that UAE was “moving from an oil-based economy to knowledge-based economy as innovation is the key to success.”
 

Giving an overview of the history of economic development of Spain after its joined the European Union, Mr Jose Luis Kaiser, Director General, International Trade and Investments, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spain said, “It is important that the reforms that were happening in states like Andhra Pradesh must be replicated all over India which would lead to rapid and dramatic rise in the Indian economy.”
 

Inspired by India’s success in raising its rank in ease of doing business, Mr U Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar, said that his country had “committed to raise its own ranking from a lowly 170 at present to 100 within three years.”
 

Mr Soumitra Dutta, Founding Dean, Cornell SC Johnsons College of Business, USA, who moderated the session said that the potential for India to move up the ease of doing business rankings was “immense”. “Just one insolvency legislation witnessed moving from 131 to 100. So, imagine what other reforms could do to out rankings. Just think of the potential”, he asked.
 

The session concluded with the inauguration of plaques signifying the foundation for setting up an Indian Institute of Foreign Trade campus and an Indian Institute of Packaging campus in Kakinada. Also, enrolment cards were distributed to aquaculture farmers.

23 feb 2018, page no.5, Punjab Kesari

मोदी की मूर्ति से गुलजार होगा अंबेडकर म्यूजियम

सीपीडब्ल्यूडी ने मंत्रालय को मूर्ति फाइनल करने के लिए भेजा प्रस्ताव

लंदन के मैडम तुसाद म्यूजियम के बाद प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी की मूर्ति अब अंबेडकर म्यूजियम में लगाने की तैयारी चल रही है। यहां पर प्रधानमंत्री मोदी की मूर्ति अब संविधान निमार्ताओं के साथ दिखेगी। इसके लिए पूरा खाका तैयार किया जा चुका है। प्रधानमंत्री की मूर्ति से संबंधित पुतलों की मुद्राओं को फाइनल करने के लिए सीपीडब्ल्यूडी ने सामाजिक अधिकारिता मंत्रालय को पुतलों की लिस्ट भेजी है। मूर्ति लगाने के लिए अब सिर्फ मंत्रालय से हरि झंडी का इंतजार है।

साथ ही दूसरी तरफ यह सवाल उठने लगा है कि मोदी की मूर्ति अंबेडकर मैमोरियल में आखिर क्यों लगाई जा रही है? विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि मोदी की मूर्ति लगाने का आखिर क्या औचित्य है? सूत्र बताते हैं कि यहां पर उन लोगों की मूर्तियां लगाई जानी हैं, जो सन् 1949 में संविधान निर्माता बाबा साहेब के साथ संविधान पारित कराते समय सभा के सदस्य थे।
बता दें कि राजधानी में बाबा साहेब को लेकर एक म्यूजियम तैयार किया जा रहा है। इसका निर्माण कार्य लगभग खत्म होने वाला है और फिलहाल इसे फाइनल टच दिया जा रहा है। यहां पर सात लोगों की प्रतिमाएं लगाने की योजना है। सात लोगों में तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री पंडित जवाहर लाल नेहरू, गृहमंत्री सरदार वल्लभ भाई पटेल, रक्षामंत्री बलदेव सिंह, श्रममंत्री बाबू जगजीवन राम, स्वास्थ्य मंत्री राजकुमारी अमृत कौर, शिक्षा मंत्री मौलाना अबुल कलाम व वर्तमान प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का नाम शामिल है। ऐसे में सवाल उठने लगे हैं कि जब वर्तमान प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी उस दौरान थे नहीं फिर उनकी मूर्ति लगाए जाने का क्या औचित्य है?
फाइनल करने के लिए तीन मुद्राएं 
'पंजाब केसरी' को मिले दस्तावेजों के मुताबिक सीपीडब्ल्यूडी के विकास परियोजना मंडल-2 की ओर से मंत्रालय को प्रधानमंत्री मोदी की तीन मुद्राओं को भेजा गया है। इसमें एक को फाइनल किया जाना है। इसके फाइनल होते ही अगले 15 दिनों के भीतर म्यूजिम में मोदी की मूर्ति को स्थापित कर दिया जाएगा।
मोदी ने ही रखी थी म्यूजियम की आधारशिला
दिल्ली में 26 अलीपुर रोड स्थित भवन में बाबा साहेब अंबेडकर ने 1 नवंबर 1951 से लेकर अपने महापरिनिर्वाण 6 दिसंबर 1956 तक निवास किया था। दरअसल, यह संपत्ति राजस्थान के सिरोही के महाराज की थी। बाबा साहेब के 1951 में केंद्रीय मंत्रीमंडल से इस्तीफा देने के बाद उन्हें यहां पर रहने के लिए आमंत्रित किया गया था। अब यह भारत सरकार की संपत्ति है। अब यहीं पर केंद्रीय सामाजिक न्याय एवं अधिकारिता मंत्रालय, डॉ. अंबेडकर नेशनल मैमोरियल स्थापित कर रहा है। जिसकी आधारशिला प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने ही 21 मार्च 2016 को रखी थी। अपने संबोधन में प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा था कि इस मैमोरियल की बिल्डिंग दिल्ली की आइकॉनिक बिल्डिंग बनेगी। साथ ही यह भी कहा था कि बाबा साहेब के जन्मदिवस पर 14 अप्रैल 2018 को वह इसका उद्घाटन करेंगे। तो ऐसे में सवाल खड़ा होना लाजिमी है कि क्या प्रधानमंत्री मोदी खुद ही अपनी मूर्ति का भी अनावरण करेंगे?


मायावती के बाद मोदी बनेंगे दूसरे जिंदा नेता
जिंदा नेताओं की मूर्ति लगवाने की फेहरिस्त में प्रधानमंत्री मोदी का नाम शामिल होने जा रहा है। इससे पहले उत्तर प्रदेश की तत्कालीन मुख्यमंत्री मायावती ने अपनी मूर्ति लगवाई थी। जोकि सियासी गलियारों से लेकर आम जन के बीच खासी चर्चा का विषय बना था। उस समय सभी बड़ी पार्टियों ने इसकी खूब निंदा की थी। एक बार फिर इतिहास दोहराया जा रहा है। सरकार के मतहात विभाग के चंद लोगों ने मोदी को महिमा मंडित करने के लिए ही प्रधानमंत्री की मूर्ति लगाने लगाने की योजना बना डाली है। सूत्रों की मानें तो अभी तक प्रधानमंत्री व पीएमओ को इस संदर्भ में अवगत नहीं कराया गया है। हालांकि पार्टी के आला अधिकारियों को भी इसकी जानकारी होने की बात कही जा रही है।

-राजेश रंजन सिंह
साभार: पंजाब केसरी

Canada is open for Trade, Investments and People

Navdeep Bains, Minister for Innovation, Science & Economic Development, Canada

Canada is open for Trade, Investments and People. This was stated by Mr. Navdeep Bains, Hon’ble Minister for Innovation, Science & Economic Development, Canada. The Minister was addressing the India Canada Business Forum: Innovation and Business Connectivity organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Canada India Business Council and the India Canada Business Chamber in New Delhi today.

The Minister elaborated that the aim of the Canadian government is to invest in people and technology to help companies scale up. Canada, he stated has an Innovation and Skills Plan and is investing in skilling and re-skiiling people to foster innovation. This has helped develop a vibrant innovation and start-up eco-system in the country.

With reference to India, the Minister stated that the idea was to help Canadian companies grow as well as solve key problems in India. He pointed out that when he visited India in November 2017, he was accompanied by Canadian companies who had developed technologies which could help alleviate the problem of air pollution caused due to crop burning.

The Minister stated that Canada was the fastest growing G7 country and therefore presented tremendous opportunities for Indian companies to invest in the Canadian market. The Minister pointed out that Indian companies could use Canada as a gateway to the North American market. In addition, with the signing of the Canada – EU FTA, Indian companies would get access to the European market as well.  He invited Indian companies to invest in Canada.

Ms Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism and Leader of Government in the House of Commons, Canada stated that Innovation is taking place in every sector and every region of Canada. The Canadian Government was creating super-clusters in the country to help create 50,000 jobs. She highlighted that their Government was collaborating with Hyderabad based T-Hub to come up with new solutions in areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies. She highlighted that promoting women entrepreneurs in the country is another major focus of their government.

Mr. Hari Bhartia, Past President, CII and Co-Chairman & Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences stated that his company entered Canada as they saw great opportunity in the field of nuclear medicine in which Canada was a leader. He stated that Canada has a great innovation eco-system which they were able to leverage and is helping them bring new drugs to the market.

The session also included Panel Discussions on “Innovation and Business Connectivity” as well as “Looking to the Future: How New Industries are driving Innovation”

CII

Indian Youth Congress protest against personal nirav bank

The Indian Youth Congress staged another protest today against the AAP government in Delhi for allegedly manhandling a senior bureaucrat  Anshu Prakash. The protest was staged outside AAP Office at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, ITO. 

The AAP government has time and  again resorted to such unlawful and unparliamentary activities since coming to power in Delhi. We strongly condemn this incident and the behaviour of AAP MLAs involved in this. We demand certain limits of protocol and discipline from the people chosen to rule the state. If people in power portray themselves with such indignity, they have no right to lay their power on the state and it's people. 

On one hand there is BJP government at the National level which is running a tyrannical regime and on the other hand there is APP government at the Country's capital which is moving on the same tyrannical path laid down by the BJP.

Indian Youth Congress demand resignation of Delhi CM Arvind Kejariwal as it is clear that he can no more control the functioning of the State. Such unethical and unconstitutional behaviour was carried out by his 'hand picked' MLAs and that too at his residence in front of his eyes! This is a clear fall in the morality of the government. 

This protest march of IYC IYC National Secretary Shri. Sitaram Lamba along with  DPYC President Vikash Chikara, DPYC VP Ranvijay Singh Lochab  and  delhi state office bearers and youth activists.

Shaadi Teri Bajayenge Hum Band

The enthusiastic team of "Shaadi Teri Bajayenge Hum Band" witnessed in Delhi for music launch!

  

 Featured under the banner of Rangreeza Films, the upcoming comedy-drama flick "Shadi Teri Bajayenge Hum Band" is finally on its way towards the release, therefore, the super exciting team came together in Delhi and launched the music of the film. The grand event took place in My Bar Headquarters Lounge, at Connaught Place. Present in the evening was, singing sensation Dilbagh Singh, directors of the film Rahul Bagga, Gurpreet Sondh, actor come producer Rohit Kumar, actress Afreen Alvi, Radha Bhatt and Shrashti Maheshwari.

   Along with the song launch, the entire team also interacted with media peeps and shared the uniqueness of the movie along with the music belongs to the same. The entire seemed really excited and confident about the movie. Singer Dilbagh Singh stated, "the best parts of the film as per me is the accurate timing of comedy and punches, we portrayed our character the way we are in real life, I can say instant comedy and the other best part is the music of the film is top class, we had top artist for the songs which include the biggest of all legend Daler Mehndi Ji. We had a great time together working on this film." Further, he added, "the movie is based on the life of three friends, who have an interesting life and relations, I am sure you all will love this film."

   Well, as per the information revealed, the movie is going to be a laughter riot with many twist & turns. Directed by Gurpreet Sondh, music is given by Aditya Pushkarna. The movie is slated to release on 23rd March 2018.

CII National HR Excellence Award Recognises Exemplary HR Leaders

The much coveted Prize for Leadership in HR Excellence was awarded to Tata Consultancy Services at the 8th CII HR Excellence Award Confluence 2017-18 in New Delhi. The awards also underscored the significant contributions of HR functionaries by recognizing some of the best known national brands including Apollo Hospitals, Reliance Industries, Mahindra Holidays, Bosch, Raymond, Jindal Steel, Saint Gobain and Forbes Marshall, among others.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. TV Narendran, Chairman, CII National Committee on Leadership & HR and Global CEO and Managing Director, TATA Steel Limited, said that the Human Resource function must drive change and transformation within organizations by harnessing emerging technologies.

The CII National HR Excellence Award is an Industry acclaimed rigorous HR Assessment process. Organizations are assessed on “HR Excellence model” and not in comparative terms. To afford due recognition to true HR Leaders, all participants are provided with feedback from industry peers for continuous improvement. Since its inception, more than 250 organizations have participated and benefited from this Award in learning about best HR practices. 

“With increasing volatility across markets and ever changing customer needs coupled with continuous technology led disruptions to business models, an organization’s nimbleness and agility are what help it weather the storm of changes that hit it every day. This is where the HR function is expected to step in and seamlessly align the levers, leading to sustained Industry leadership,” Mr. Narendran told senior functionaries representing the Industry and the HR fraternity.

Mr. Narendran highlighted the critical role played by HR leaders in managing change and fostering sustainability. “The complexity and disruptions in the business environment today continuously decreases the visibility of businesses beyond a quarter, impeding organizations’ ability to build long term plans and requiring them to continually reinvent themselves. It is no longer about managing the present but also about anticipating and creating a sustainable future,” he said.

Indian Cinema on a Global Journey at Berlinale / European Film Market

The Indian delegation at Berlinale and European Film Market had several fruitful interactions with global counterparts positioning India cinema's new narrative and desire to collaborate internationally not only in filmmaking but also in post-production and digital services.

The India delegation to Berlinale and European Film Market 2018 is led by prominent producer and director Karan Johar of Dharma Productions. The other delegation members include Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actress, producer and director, Shaji N Karun, director, Jahnu Barua, director  and Bhumi Pednekar, actress.

"The objective is to boost the profile of Indian films, facilitate business to business meetings, production services and Indian locales to the world," says Mr Karan Johar, leader of the India delegation at Berlin.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry, is participating in the 68th Berlin International Film Festival and European Film Market, to project Indian cinema, facilitate to syndicate,  market Indian films, shooting locales and film services in India.

The prominent activities of the delegation included a high level interaction and panel discussion at Indian Embassy on Friday (Feb 16). Indian Cinema : New Narrative and global footprint. A large of directors of international film festivals, eclectic audience comprising lovers of Indian cinema fruitfully interacted with the panel exploring new avenues of international film collaborations. National Award winning film Neerja was screened at the Indian Embassy for Berlinale delegates.

On Saturday delegation members participated in a seminar on efficacy of film coproduction agreements and its future potential to fuel global partnerships. Currently India has active bilateral treaties with Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and UK.  production agreement with 13  Countries. Over 70 producers and creative heads from across Europe participated in this interaction. A State of the Indian Film Industry presentation was made at the EFM Producers Club.

Mr Ashok Parmar JS (Films) MIB spoke about the highly liberal policy environment in the country for investments in film sector, establishment of FFO as a single window clearance for film shooting across India and the ease of doing business which has become the mantra in the country makes India a very attractive destination for film business.

"We have created a Film Facilitation Office (FFO) which acts as a facilitation point for filmmakers in assisting them to get single window permission. FFO also disseminate information on shooting locations as well as the talent, resources and facilities available for production and post production. It proactively works closely with various Central and State Government Agencies to create a film friendly environment in India. FFO accepts application for shooting of feature films, reality TV shows and commercial television series in India," said Mr Parmar.

The delegation members have extended   invitation to international producers, directors and film fraternities to join for the International Film Festival of India, Goa this November. IFFI will be celebrating  50 years in 2019.

Some of the significant meetings that the delegation had  include Mr Dieter Kosslick, Berlin Film Festival Director,  Mr Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, TIFF, Mr Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Marche Du Films (Cannes Film  Market), Mr Matthijs Wouter Knol, Director, European Film Market, Mr Mathias Schwerbrock, Founder, Film Base Berlin GmbH and Producer & Director, Ms Nadia Dresti, Deputy Artistic Director, Head of International, Locarno Festival, South African women delegation among others.

Over 50 Indian companies are at Berlin during this year’s European Film Market. Senior representatives of the filmed entertainment companies are at Berlin with their library catalogue, films in production and offshore services.

COMMON MOBILITY CARD can be now used in METRO FEEDER BUSES too

COMMON MOBILITY CARD INTEGRATED WITH METRO FEEDER BUSES AND PARKING

            In line with the objective of ensuring last mile connectivity to its commuters, DMRC has now integrated the Common Mobility Card in its Feeder Buses and a few of the parking lots of the Delhi Metro network.

The Metro smart card users who are using feeder buses can now use their smart cards for making payment for travel in these buses. The Delhi Metro is currently running a fleet of more than 200 Feeder Buses in Delhi covering over 40 routes spanning across different lines of the Delhi Metro network. Around two lakh people are currently availing the Metro feeder bus services on a daily basis. 

The Common Mobility Card can now also be used at parking lots of 13 stations for paying parking charges namely; Vishwavidyalaya, Saket, Karkarduma, Dilshad Garden, Akshardham, Patel Chowk, Kashmere Gate,  Rohini Sector (18,19), Shastri Park, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Old Faridabad, and Sector 28. This service will be extended to cover all the parking lots in the coming months.

DMRC has also updated the software in the Hand Held Terminal (HHT), the device that is used to read the Card and deduct the amount, in Feeder Buses. The new software will simplify the ticketing process in the Feeder Buses and will also save time in the ticketing transaction. The minimum and maximum fare of the Feeder Buses is Rs. 5 and Rs. 15 respectively.

Delhi Metro, in the past weeks has undertaken a host of measures to make travelling for its commuters a more comfortable experience by deploying additional housekeeping staff at the stations and marshalls at the entry and exit points of stations. The metro trains are also being cleaned at terminal stations after each trip to keep the trains spotless.

UP Govt provided 250 crores to National Capital Regional Transport Corporation

Budget provision for Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) by UP Govt.

UP budget presented today by state Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal gave regional rapid project a major boost with the allocation of 250 crores to National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) RRTS project.

Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS, corridor is likely to start operating by 2024. The corridor will be highly fruitful for commuters because it will reduce travel time between the capital and Meerut to about an hour.

The Delhi-Meerut corridor will be starting from Sarai Kale Khan Terminus station which would become a transit hub with an existing bus terminal, Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and the upcoming Delhi Metro station.

The corridor would pass through densely populated areas of Delhi, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad city, Guldhar, Duhai, Muradnagar, Modinagar and Meerut, terminating at Modipuram.

"The allocation of Rs 250 crore in Uttar Pradesh budget presented today for Regional rapid transport will further boost the ongoing works related to RRTS Phase I of National Capital Region Transport Corporation on Delhi- Meerut corridor. Earlier in the Union Budget, Central Government has allocated a sum of Rs. 659 crores to this project" said Sudhir Sharma, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO), National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).

The NCRTC has already created the first field unit in Ghaziabad and posted officers more project offices will be set up at various points. The pre-construction work on Delhi-Meerut section has already started. The project will change the way people travels as they will stop taking their cars to travel in RRTS.

"Time saving is the priority of every commuter and the project will help complete the journey between Meerut and Delhi in 60 minutes. On Delhi-Ghaziabad- Meerut corridor we have planned multi-modal integration at multiple places. Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Sahibabad are few such points, where a passenger will get to interchange for other available modes of transport," said Sharma

NCRTC is a joint venture of the Union government, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and is executing three prioritized RRTS corridors — Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Meerut and Delhi-Panipat in first phase. Eight such corridors have been identified under the Integrated Transportation Plan 2032 prepared by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).

Fianacial Report of LIC

LIC of India’s Growth Story continues in the 3rd Quarter ending Dec’ 2017

New Delhi, February 16, 2018: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC of India), India’s largest life insurer, has announced its audited figures for nine months ended December 2017.

New Business performance by the Corporation for nine months ending December 2017 has shown an impressive growth of 19.47 % in its first year premium by posting a figure of ` 99783.33 cr. The Corporation has already achieved its Single Premium Target for the FY 2017-2018  as on 31.12.2017

Pension &Group Superannuation Business  have collected ` 62385 cr as New Business  Premium  Income as against   ` 51004 cr in the previous year corresponding period showing a growth of 22%. The vertical has covered 5.96  cr lives under its Social Security Schemes.

The Corporation as at December end 2017 collected over ` 2,23,854 cr of Total Premium Income as compared to ` 2,00,818 cr collected during the corresponding period last year showing a very robust growth of 11.47%

Total policy payouts amounted to ` 1,21,986 cr for the period ending 31.12.2017 as compared to ` 1,12,194 cr for the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 8.73%. This includes a payout of ` 59,671.50 cr for claims outgo covering 1,39,45,571 claimants for the nine month ending 31.12.2017 as compared to ` 55359.52 cr and 1,19,23,937 claimants in the corresponding period previous year.

The Corporations Gross Total Income grew to ` 3,78,599 cr  for the period ending 31.12.2017 from ` 3,37,466 cr as at  the last corresponding period, showing a handsome growth of over12.19%

Total Assets of the Corporation stood at  ` 28,51,190 cr as compared to ` 24,41,946 cr for the corresponding period last year thus posting a growth of over 16.75%

Commenting on the results, Mr. V.K Sharma, Chairman, LIC of India, stated “Our performance is in line with our expectation. The Corporation has recorded healthy results based on its strong fundamentals and core values.  Trusted customers across the country have supported and enabled us to report a robust financial performance.

We endeavour to drive both customer satisfaction and profitability and focus on technology to constantly improve customer experience & organizational efficiencies.”

About Life Insurance Corporation of India:

Headquartered in Mumbai, LIC has 8 Zonal offices, 113 Divisional offices, 2048 Branches, 1408 Satellite offices and 1238 Mini Offices to serve the nation. LIC holds a stature of a strong financial organization with governance and transparency as its hallmarks.

LIC continues to be the dominant life insurer even in the competitive scenario of Indian insurance with a market share of 74.15% in policies and 72.17 % in first year premium as at 31.12.2017 (As per Life Council Report).

The Corporation which was started with an initial capital of ` 5 cr , subsequently raised to ` 100 cr has built a formidable institution with assets worth over ` 28.51 lac crore. Today LIC is servicing about 29 crore policies. LIC has been constantly striving to give a delightful customer experience to its policyholder in form of expeditious claim settlement and various facilities with extensive use of technology

LIC stands out as the most trusted brand in the industry due to its phenomenal performance and ability to deliver as per policyholder’s expectations. It has stood the test of time for 61 years and today is an ‘icon’ of trust, confidence and reliability. LIC not only touches millions of lives with the gospel of insurance but also plays greater role by going much further through the numerous nation building projects with investments in Infrastructure and Social Sector which includes Projects/schemes for generation and transmission of Power, Housing Sector, Water Supply and Sewerage Projects, Developments of Roads, Bridges & Road Transport.

The Love Bites stars showcase their talent

he Grand Launch of Giant DreamWorks and premiere of "The Love Bites" held in New Delhi!

  

 Well, it’s a high time for Delhi to showcase their talent and creativity in the field of Cinema and films. As Giant DreamWorks, a premium production house based in Nation’s Capital is finally launched to promote the hidden talent and creativity of Delhi. Along with the launch the grand premiere of the film The Love Bites also took place. Present at the event were the entire team of GiantDreamWorks along with the cast of the movie The Love Bites, Actress Charlie Chauhan, Director Siddharth Sikka, Producer Sahiba and to support them, Actor, Amit Behl was also present.

   

The grand page 3 party took place in Friends Club Limited at Friends Colony, where several big shots were witnessed such as politicians from Ministry of Law, Broadcasting Ministry, senior members from NFDC, Senior members of DAVP. Industrialist Yadur Kapoor (Mercedes & Rolls Royce), Tanuj Barua (BMW), Sanjeev Hazari (Ferrari), Prasidha Menon and many more. While interacting with media, several details of production house were revealed, as Giant DreamWorks took part in advertising, marketing, film-production, and media buying strategy, cooperative-retailed based programs, and national branding campaigns. The company’s mission is to turn New Delhi into the Film Capital of India.

   The director of the film, Siddharth Sikka stated, “Our production house will lead the talents in Delhi. The professional culture in Delhi is weak, so our motive is to make Delhi more known for films and television. We got more plans, as we discussed our ideas in foreign countries to create more production houses and to make Delhi our Control Centre, we will also put up our proposal to government also.” About the movie, he said, “The love bites is a 17 minutes movie. It’s showcased on Hungama Play & Youtube. This film got shot on a farm at Chattarpur, Delhi. It’s going to be released on 16th February.”

   Actress Charlie Chauhan also seemed excited about her movie, she told media, “It’s a great pleasure to be a part of this film. The entire team was so friendly to me, I got pampered full time while working on this film. I am excited and bit nervous also.” Whereas actor Amit Behl also shared his views, he said, “I am here to support the entire team ofGiantDreamWorks and The Love Bites. This movie and the production house will definitely promote the creativity in Delhi. We want to promote the talent infrastructure of Delhi.”